Engine-starter



Qwi/mmo Win45 E, V. HARTFORD AND L. MASTRANGEL.

ENGINE STARTER.

APPLlCATlON FILED JAN. 22, 1914.

Patented Jan. 4, 1921.,

3 SHEETSSHEET 1.

E. V. HARTFORD AND L. MASTRANGEL.

ENGINE STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 22, 1914.

Patented Jan. 4, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- FIG. 2

E. V. HARTFORD AND L. MASTRANGEL.

ENGINE STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 22, 1914.

1,3 4, 53, mama 52m. 41

3 SHEETSSHEET 3- UNITED @FWQ EDWARD v. nan'rrcnn, on DEAL, incursMASTELANGEL, on EEGBGKEIN, new JERSEY; SAID mas'ritan'ena assrciacn roearn iaeianrczan.

ENGINE$TAFJTEi I.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 4, 19211,

Original application filed June is, 1912, Serial no. 704,489. nivaieeand this application filed January 2a, 1914. Serial no. eiaesa To allwhom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Eowano V. Henr- FORD and LOUIS MASTRANGEL, citizensof the United States, residing at Deal, in the county of Monmouth andState of New Jersey, and at Hoboken, in the county of Hudson andStateof. New Jersey, respectivel have invented certain new and usefulmprovements in Engine-Starters, of which the following is a full, clear,and exact specification.

' This application is a division of our copending application Serial No704389 which, in turn, is a continuation in part of our applicationSerial No. 640,903. filed Jul 27, 1911.

Our invention relates broadly to means for starting an engine which isnot adapted to commence rotating under its own power,

stick, for example, as the internal combus- .itioh gasolene engine nowvery generally used for: the propulsion ofmotor vehicles Assiafw'ellknown, the crank shaftof such aii erj g-inc must be rotated by someexternal agency before the engine will begin operating under its ownpower. This operation is commonly known as cranking and when done byhand is a source of much danger to the operator, since the engine islikely to backfire or kick back, thus imparting a violent backwardrotation to the starting crank or handle held by the operator andfrequently causing severe injury to him. To

overcome this danger and to do away with the annoyance and inconvenienceattendant "upon cranking an engine by hand, we have invented amechanical self-starter particularly adapted for motorcars and otherselfpropelled vehicles provided with gasolene or other internalcombustion engines. This self-starter is preferably equipped with asmall electric motor of a type having characteristics that make itparticularly *valuable in furnishing thepower necessary for the crankingoperation, and thisis prefer ably combined with certain devices that'together cooperate to prevent a back-kick or back-fire from the enginein any way H1111}? ing or .-deranging the starting mechanism,

while atthexsame time they co-act to deliver thelp'ower. of theself-starter motor. to the crank shaft of the engine in such degree andat such t mes as will be mostefi'eetive, and in such manner as willstart the engine with certainty under even the most adverse 0011- 5ditions without the expenditure of an undue amount of electrical energy.

In starting an internal combustion engine, by means of an electricmotor, we have found it desirable to connect the motor and 6c the enginecrank shaft, so that the driving action of the motor will be dependentupon the speed of the engine, perm tting the independent operation ofthe engine under its own power when once started thus relieving themotor of any deranging influences that it might be subjected to if itwere positivelv and unreleasably connected tothe engine- Furthermore, itis desirable that this releasable means he so constituted as to regaincannot always be obtained by an init1a17 explosion or two.

Several succeeding misfirings may cause the engine to again come torest. Therefore by the interposition of. means such as anover-runningclutch in termediatethe motor and engine, the motor soautoii'iatically regains control of the crank shaft. Thus after a seriesof misfirings, the motor automatically regains control of the enginecrank shaft, driving the latter until the engine has become effectivelyself- 5 actuated. By this means. the crank shaft will not be permittedto halt but will be continuously driven by the motor until the speedofthe former exceeds the driving speed of the latter.- Furthermore, indriving a co car at low speed on the high gear, especially as in drivingthrough dense city traflic, it is desirable to be able to actuate thestartermotor at any time so that if the driver feels his engine sslowing to a point where it is liable to stall, he may throw in the selfstarter. As soon as the speed of the startermotorover-running clutchmember exceeds the speed of the engine, the power of the self-startermotor will be added to the power of the engine, causing the engine tospeed up and overcoming the imminent danger of stalling. This isaccomplished without the need for changing gears oi' for releasp in themain clutch of the car.

e have also found that a small high speed-motor is effective for enginestarting purposes and to associate such motor with the crank shaft ofthe engine, we employ reduction gearing between the motor and the crankshaft of the engine so as to impart thereto a relatively slowcrank-shaftmovement. The reduction gearing and overrunning clutch arecombined in such manner as to relieve the gearing from strain orderanging influences after the engine becomes self-actuated. Thisprevents the stripping of gears and obviates the necessity of employingshifting gears for the accomplishment of the desired result. Theoverrunning clutch is, therefore, interposed between the train ofreducing gears and the engine crank shaft or vehicle transmission shaftas the case may be. In this way, when the .engine becomes self-actuatedand the motor deenergized, the motor and gears stop and remain in acondition of rest. We have found in practice that a gear ratio of 100 to1 is effective when a high-speed motor of the character used by us isemployed, which motor is capable of'operating at approximately a speedof 10,000 to 12,000 revolutions per minute. A motor of this characteroperating ata speed of 6,000 to 10,000 revolutions per minute will,through this reduction train of gears, cause the transmission shaft torotate at a speed of 60 to 100 revolutions per minute andproportionately at other motor speeds. The great gear reduction gives anenormous leverage for getting the engine under Way no matter howcongealed the oil therein may be, and at the same time gives the motor achance to'gain its speed while traveling between high com; pressionpoints of the engine. Of course, it is understood that the ratios andparticular speeds are given merely by way of example and that they maybe varied as special conditions demand.

x In the train of gearing above described, there is preferablyinterposed a slip-drive mechanism which is designed to transmit an ampleamount of power to start the engine but Which is releasable under aheavy overload, so that should the engine backfire or kick-back, themechanism will momentarilyyield, thus protecting the starter-motor andits associated mechanism from the damage to which they might besubiected by the sudden forcible reversal of rotation of their movingparts, resulting from a backfire of the gasolene engine.

With this understanding of the general characteristics of our inventionand the purposes thereof, we will proceed to describe the illustratedembodiment in the accompanying sheets of drawings, which embodiment,however, is illustrative rather than definitive as it is of coursepossible to vary the structural details and arrangement of parts withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of our invention .as defined in theappended claims.

Figure 1 illustrates in plan, our invention in connection with so muchof the associated parts of an automobile, as is thought Will besufficient to convey a full understanding thereof. a 70 Fig. 2 is anelevation on a larger scale 0 the starter motor and associated clutchesand train of reducing gearing, the transmission shaft beinQ' shown incross section.

Fig. 3 is a view of the starter at about right angles to the position ofFig. 2, the transmission shaft being shown in plan and the over-runningclutch partly in section.

1 indi ates a motor of the high-speed type and may be of one-quarterhorse-power. 0 Its dimensions may approximate four and one-half inchesin diameter and seven and one-half inches in length and weigh abouttwenty-four pounds and when energized by a twelve-volt battery, it willexert an llIl-.85 usually high torque. The motor, as we havelconstructed it. has shown itself to be capable of speeding 1000revolutions per minute on one volt, with the ability of speeding up12,000 revolutions per'minut'e on 12 volts. The employment of such ahigh-speed has been found to be perfectly feasible and practicable forstarting large and heavy engines, since the service period of the motoris of short duration. Such a high-speed motor having the usualcharacteristics of a series motor, that is. having a high startingtorque and tending to race under no-load or lightload conditions, is, ofcourse, intended to be used only at intervals and does not maintaineither ano-load condition or a full-load condition for a considerableperiod of time. The motor speed on the 12 volt battery indicated by thenumeral 2 does not; when coupled to the engine through the reductiongearing, attain the rate of- 12,000 revolutions per minute. In practice,it is ap roximately brought down to 8,000 revo utions per minute.

It is to be understood that where we have used the word characteristicin this specification we have in mind the technical meaning that iscommonly given to it in electrical engineering. Thus, a motor having ahigh starting torque characteristic is exemplified ina series motor,such a motor-inherently having a high starting torque at low speeds: atorque which is enormously greater than the starting torque of a shuntmotor of the same horse-power rating.

The motor 1 is connected to the transmission shaft 3, which in turn isconnected in the usual manner through a clutch mechanism 3- with thecrank shaft 4: of the engine 18. Interposed between the armature of thestarter motor and the transmission shaft 3 is a train of reduction gearswhich are releasably connected to the transmission shaft by theover-running clutch heretofore mentioned.

Upon the end of the motor armature is a worm 5, which meshes with a wormwheel 6, the latter being loosely and freely mounted upon a countershaft 7, so that it is independently rotatable. thereon, exceptinginsofar as thismovement is restrained by a friction clutch mechanismhereinafter described. The counter shaft 7 is supported in suitablebrackets 8 which are provided on the motor supporting platform 9. Thefriction clutch referred to constitutes frictionally engaging partsthrough which the.

power of the motor is transmitted to inaugurate the self-actuation ofthe engine. This clutch mechanism comprises a pair of cup-shaped plates10 and 11 disposed on opposite sides of the worm wheel 6 and operablyconnected therewith through the medium of the wear-resisting washers 12and 13. The plate 10 is keyed to and made fast to the shaft 7 and theplate 11 is splined thereto. The frictional adhesion or grip betweenthese parts is effected through the medium of a spider-shaped spring 14,the tension of which may be readily adjusted by means of the nut 15,which is in screw-threaded engagement with cooperating screw threads onthe shaft 7.

The friction clutch gearing and worm, as thus described, afford anadjustable and yielding connection between the starter motor and theengine and have a two-fold purpose. This clutch regulates and controlsthe quantity of motive power imparted through the shaft 7 and associatedgears to the crank shaft of the engine for the pur pose of actuating thesame and secondly, provides a yielding shock-absorbing connection thatWlll take care of any possible backkick due to premature explosionswhich pinion 16 in mesh with the gear wheel 17,

might impart a reverse'motion to the crank shaft of the engine as wellas to the mecha nism connectin the starter-motor thereto.

- Should a bac '-kick, or what is some times called a back-fire, occurthe power transmitted to the crank shaft of the engine and the gears bythe engine (this-being greater than the adhering power of the frictionclutch) will become s ent in freely rotating the.

and cup-shaped plates 10 and 11 independently of the worm wheel 6,

counter shaft which is in positive connection with the worm on thearmature of the motor. Thus it will be seen, that a sudden shock due tothe back-kickof the engine is absorbed by the friction clutch, and thestarter motor is protected as well as the connecting mechanism breakage.

Upon the counter shaft 7 is arranged a the latter mounted on thetransmission described, from derangen e'nt} or.

or crank shaft 3 as the case may be. Intermediate the gear wheel 17 andthe transmission shaft 3 is the over-running clutch mechanism,heretofore referred to, the construction of which will now be ex'lained. 70

, The initial working impulses cause by the explosions in the cylindersof the engine 18, will cause the crank shaft 4 and the transmissionshaft 3 to move at a speed in excess of that imparted toit by the motor.Therefore, it is necessary that this shaft be per mitted to rotate freeof the gear wheel 17, as has been explained. This over-running clutchcomprises a pair of rings 19 fast upon the transmission shaft 3. Onthese rings are mounted a pair of ball cups 20, the latter cooperatingwith a ring 21 for forming suit-- able ball races. The latter ring ismade fast to the gear wheel 17. A ring 22 is secured. between the rings19-19 extending out-. wardly between the ball cups 20 and 1s providedwith a series of pockets 23, which open toward the inner face of thering 21. The.

bottoms of these pockets are inclined in 9. common direction. Aroller-24 is mounted v in each pocket and is lightly pressed up theincline toward the friction face 25 of .the ring 21, by means of a smallspring 26. Upon rotation of the gear wheel 17 in the direction of thearrow, under actuation of the starter motor, the rollers will cause thecoupling of the gear wheel 17 and the transmission shaft 3 so that thetransmission shaft 3 and gear wheel 17 will rotate in unison, as isapparent, however, this occurs only when the starter motor is acting asa driver. Therefore. when the engine becomes selfactuated the speed ofthe crank and transmission shafts thereof-exceed the speed of the gearwheel 17 This will cause the rollers 24 to be dislodged and forced fromtheir coupling position, thus permitting the crank shaft to rotateindependently of said gear wheel 17. It is apparent from this that uponthe speed of the crank shaft becoming 11 reduced to a point below thespeed imparted to the gear wheel 17 by the starter motor,

it will be carried under the power of the latter. By this means thecrank shaft will; I not be permitted to halt after its movement 1 hasbeen inaugurated by the starter motor during the energization of thelatter.

Of course any other appropriate met-hanism can be substituted for theroller clutch which will permit the motor to drive when the speed of theengine is less than the driving speed of the motor, but which willrelease when the engine speeds up.

In order to lighten the load that the starter-motor is re uired to movein turn ing over an interna combustion engine, we may provide means forpartially relieving the engine compresslon so that we. retaincient-pressure'in the cylinder under compression uponan explosion, theforce of this explosion acting to reestablish a full compressioncondition in the cylinder. Such a-ineans we slight degree. Thisvalve-operating mechanism may be conveniently described as follows:

A slide-rod 27 is arranged to engage the tappets of the variousexhaust-valves and raise them when a pull-is exerted thereon.

This rod 27 is connected to an operatinghandle 28, through a lever 29pivoted at 30, a connecting-rod 31,- bell-crank -lever 32, a connectingrod 33, a bell-crank-lever34, and a cable 35.

Upon the operation of this mechanism to partially relieve thecompression of the engine, we provide means for simultaneously shuntingin the energizing current to the electric motor so that as soon as thecompression is relieved the motor may start to perform its intendedfunction. The mechanism to accomplish this result consists of aconnecting-rod 36, connected at one end to the bell-crank-lever 32, andat the other end to a knife-switch 37, the poles of which are connected,one with the storage-battery through lead or wire 38,- and the otherwith the motor through lead or wire 39. As soon as the initial impulseof the engine is obtained, the force of the explosion, acting againstthe exhaust-valves, will cause them to close, forcing the slide-rod 27out of engagement with the exhaust-valve tappets, causing thebell-crank-lever 32 to rock, and this movement, transmitted through theconnecting-rod 36, will cause the knife-sw tch 37 to open or break thebattery or energizing circuit of the starter-motor. In the other lead 40from the battery to the motor a push-button switch 41 is included forstarting purposes.

is manifest from the foregoing and from an inspection of the drawingsthat our starter motor and reduction gear connecting devices andover-running clutch may be applied either directly to the transmissionshaft of the vehicle or directly to the crank shaft of the propellingengine and where we use the terms transmission shaft or crank shaft inthe foregoing specification and the appended claims, it is to beunderstood that no limitation to a specific shaft is thereby intended,these terms being merely employed to designate the driving shaft of theengine, to which the power of the starter motor is applied to effect theself-actuation of the engine.

By means of our invention, we are enabled to employ a low voltage, highspeed motor of smaller dimensions than has heretofore been foundpracticable, owing to the fact that the service period of the motor whenperforming its starter function, is momentary and only sufiiciently longto cause the engine to operate under its own power. The overrunningclutch instantly acts to release the motor from the work which it mayhave been performing under a heavy overmay readily result in its burningout 1. In combination, in an automobile, an

electric motor having a high starting torque characteristic, an internalcombustion engine and automatic means for yieldably connecting the motorand the engine, when the driving power of the motor is transmitted tooperate the engine, said means operating to release and enable the motorto stop when the engine becomes self-actuated, said motor and enginebeing otherwise disconnected.

2. In combination, in an automobile, an electric motor having a highstarting torque characteristic, an internal combustion en gine, andmeans between and operably associated with said motor and engine forautomatically establishing a yieldable motor driving connection wheneverthe speed of the engine does not exceed the driving speed of the motor,said means operating to release and enable the motor to stop when theengine becomes self-actuated, said motor and engine being otherwisedisconnected.

3. In combination, in an automobile, an electric motor having a highstarting torque characteristic, an internal combustion engine,intermediate reducing gear means, releasable connecting means, ayieldable connection intermediate the motor and the releasable means,said releasable means automatically operating to transmit the power ofthe motor to the engine when the motor is acting as the driver, andoperating to release and enable the reducing gear means and motor tostop when the engine becomes self-actuated, said motor and engine beingotherwise disconnected.

4. In combination, in an automobile, a high speed starter motor having ahigh starting torque characteristic, an internal combustion engine andintermediate connecting means including a reducing train of gears, aspring controlled yieldable device, and an automatically operatedcoupling and uncoupling mechanism by means of which the propellingengine may be initially actuated at low speed and released from thestarter motor and gearing upon becoming self-actuated, said motor andengine being otherwise disconnected.

5. In combination an internal combustion engine, an electric motorhaving a driving shaft, a driven shaft, speed reducing mechanismtransmitting motion from the driving shaft to thedriven shaft, speedreducing mechanism transmitting motion from the driven shaft to thecrank shaft of the engine, one of said speed reducing mechanismsincluding a yieldable spring controlled device, and an over-runningclutch mechanism interposed between the crank shaft of the engine andthe driven shaft and operating to automatically connect and disconnectsaid crank shaft from said driving shaft depending upon the speed of theengine. 6. In an engine starter, an electric motor having a drivingshaft, a driven shaft, speed reducing gearing including a yieldabledriving device connecting the two shafts, an internal combustion enginehaving a crank shaft, means for automatically connecting the drivenshaft with the crank shaft, and for automatically disconnecting themwhen the engine is racing.

7 In combination, an electric motor having a driving shaft, a drivenshaft, an internal combustion engine having a crank shaft, yieldablespeed reducing mechanism transmitting motion from the driving shaft tothe driven shaft, transmission means between the driven shaft and thecrank shaft comprising automatic means for disconnecting the crank shaftat a predetermined speed of the latter and for automaticallyv connectingthe crank shaft when the motor acts as the'driver.

8. In combination, an engine shaft, connecting means carried thereby andadapted to start said shaft forward and to release said shaft when saidshaft drives forward, and yielding driving means for the connectingmeans mounted independently of the engine shaft and adapted to yieldshould the engine back fire.

.9. In combination, an engine shaft, a starting shaft, an intermediateshaft, means yieldably connecting the intermediate shaft with thestarting shaft and means connecting the intermediate shaft with theengine shaft during the forward rotation, said second-mentioned meansbecoming disconnected when the engine shaft drives forward.

10. In combination, an internal combustion engine having a crank shaft,a starter shaft through which power is adapted to be supplied to crankthe engine, an irreversible driving connection between said shaftscomprising a friction clutch.

11. In combination, an internal combustion engine having a crankshaft, astarter shaft through which power is adapted to be supplied to crank theengine, an irreversible driving connection between said shaftscomprising ,an adjustable friction clutch.

12. In combination, an engine shaft, a motor, power-transmission meansactuated by said motor and adapted to start said shaft forward and torelease when said shaft drives forward, said means including anoverrunning clutch, and yielding driving means interposed between themotor and engine shaft and adapted to yield should the engine backfire.

13. In combination, an engine shaft, a self-starter motor shaft, andpower transmission means connecting said shafts, said means including ayieldable device providing permanent driving connection between themotor and the engine but adapted to yield should the engine backfire.

14. In combination, an engine shaft, a

self-starter motor shaft, and power transmission means connecting saidshafts, said Ineans including friction plates and means normally urgingthem into contact, said plates being adapted to transmit rotation to theengine shaft when the motor is operating as the driver, but adapted toyield should the engine backfire.

15. The combination with a motor vehicle having a variable speedpropelling engine; of a starter for said engine comprising a storagebattery; an electric motor; electrical connections between the batteryand motor; driving connections intermediate the motor and engine,including automatic means for disconnecting the engine from the motorwhen the engine operates under its own power; and means responsive toself-actuation of the engine for breaking a connection between thebattery and motor, whereby self-actuation of the engine electrically andmechanically isolates the starting motor.

16. The combination with a motor vehicle having a variable speedpropelling engine; of a starter for said engine comprising a storagebattery; an electric motor; electrical connections between the batteryand motor; yieldable driving connections intermediate the motor andengine, including automatic means for disconnecting the engine from themotor when the engine operates under its own power; and means responsiveto selfactuation of the engine for'breaking a connection between thebattery and motor,

whereby self-actuation of the engine electrically and mechanicallyisolates the starting motor.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hanwhis 21st day of January,1914.

EDWVARD V. HARTFORD. LUUIS MASTRANGEL. Witnesses:

WILLIAM CORKILL, WILLIAM P. HAMMOND.

